Champions Day: Dave Nevison's best bets

Whilst in the long term, it may be disappointing that this horse has been gelded, it certainly looks as though it might have helped him on the racecourse.

This valuable conditions race allows this Group Two winner to race against rivals whose form doesn’t come close on level terms and he looks a good bet even at short odds.

He won the Mill Reef at Newbury last time using his experience and determination to get the better of a good horse in Into The Sky, with the pair finishing four lengths clear of the field.

This ground versatile horse has already scored over this course and distance, and it is difficult to see him getting beat.

Montassib reappeared late this season and it definitely looks as though his third place in a five-furlong event at Newbury, a trip he had never raced over previously, was very much a warm up for this event, which he possibly should have won last season.

He finished fifth 12 months ago, but was flying after being behind and not getting the best of runs on that occasion. His habit of starting slowly might not help him, but I am sure Cieran Fallon will be alive to it this time and hopefully Montassib will not get too far back.

He won his Group One at Haydock beating a couple of today’s rivals in good style and I would argue the stiffer track at Ascot should suit him better. Even though he was behind the same horses at Ascot, I am favouring him reversing the form here. 

Waardah is a typical Owen Burrows project and is repaying the trainer’s customary patience in spades.

She was stepped up to a mile and three quarters last time and won a Group Two in efficient style by three quarters of a length. She only asserted inside the last furlong on that occasion, but to my eyes would have won at any trip, so I am not massively concerned by her dropping down in distance.

With the eminently beatable Kalpana set to head the market in this, I feel we are getting value backing the much less exposed Waardah as there are no doubts at all about her determination to win races, which is not an opinion I have about the undoubtedly talented favourite.

This is a seriously competitive handicap full of progressive types from the biggest yards in the game and, even though he is a seven-year-old, I believe Orandi has potential upside with Tony Martin after just five runs for him. He has shown himself to be one of the best target trainers in the business over many years.

The bookies look to have overpriced this horse at the 40-1 on offer as I write on Friday. He has already shown himself to be a good prospect after a break for his current yard on a couple of occasions, winning the Irish Lincoln after four months off back in March and then coming off a break to run really well at the Galway Festival.

He ran moderately on his latest start, but has been rested since and I see that as a positive for this race.

He is drawn in 9 and, although I would have preferred slightly higher, David Egan is a positive booking and I am pretty sure will be in behind the pacesetters who are drawn middle to high in this. Hopefully will time his run perfectly at a course which favours those coming off the pace.